I'm just, you know, I'm just the guy that does the thing. We've run out of pie.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Religion and Politics, two things you should never discuss. Part 1

I enjoy conversation, I
savor great conversation but all conversation is worthwhile. Debate is great,
there is nothing that gets the blood pumping quite like a lively debate. Debate
has the added benefit of solidifying your own thoughts and beliefs and has the
potential to change them. How can you truly believe something if you don't
understand it?

There are a few things,
though, that I usually don't talk about outside of my very small circle of
friends and the top two are religion and politics. I have noticed over the
years that nothing quite so blinds people to facts or closes minds like the
discussion of religion or politics. This is really a shame because of all the
subjects one can discuss, debate, or simply argue over, religion and politics
benefit the most from it.

I understand why people react this way. Your
religion is a deeply held belief, often one that goes to the core of who a
person is. Political beliefs are nearly as deeply held in those that are
religious and even more so in those that are not. Facing someone who has a just
as deeply held conflicting belief can be quite a disconcerting experience.
Don't get me wrong, there are a great number of people who will vigorously
discuss their religion (and others) with you. Secure in their beliefs and
willing to openly debate every point with you. I applaud these people, I search
out these people. My own religious beliefs are very muddled and discussion and
debating them helps me to clarify them to myself.

This post (the first in
a continuing series on these two touchy subjects) is not going to be a lesson
in religion or philosophy. Nor will it be an essay on the differences between
Democratic or Republican politics. No, it's written to help solidify my own
thoughts and in the process maybe help someone else going to the same internal
struggle, which no one should do alone if they can help it. Maybe this post can
stir a lively debate make someone else think seriously about their own beliefs.
No matter what else I am writing this because I am still struggling with my
religion, my philosophy, and more. I know of no better way to organize, to
codify, my thoughts than to write them down. So, without any further preamble,
here they are.

I was raised a Baptist.
For 20 years I attended the same church, with the same people, and for most of
that time the same pastor. After marrying my wife, we started attending an
Episcopal church. Some years later, through a friend, we started attending and
became members of a Presbyterian church. Eventually though we stopped attending
altogether using the excuse of not having the time which while true, was only
an excuse. During our attendance of these churches, as different as they were
the core beliefs were alike. The rituals differed, often considerably, but the
basic teachings were very similar.

I hold no illusion that
the Bible is an accurate written history of the world. It is what it needs to
be; a handbook to living a Christian life. Written in such a way to make it
accessible to everyone and leaving out everything you don't need to know.
Telling parables rather than recording history. I am no biblical scholar but
that's my take on it. When viewed as such it is easy to reconcile 65 million
year old dinosaurs and a few thousand year old world.

The more time I spent
outside of organized religion the more I began to really think about what I had
been taught and whether or not I could continue to believe it. This led to some
interesting internal conversations but unfortunately all too few external
conversations. I eventually decided that blind faith was not for me, so
naturally, I did what any other scientifically minded person would do...
research.

I think I have covered a lot of ground in this post, and while I am far from finished, I have to stop somewhere. This seems as good a place as any.To be Continued...